“The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret,” Salvador Dalí once said (Thinkexistquotes). The Freemasons, a very secretive brotherhood or perhaps, more accurately, a brotherhood with secrets, has not been very outspoken about the depths of their influence on the United States government. John Hylan said this in regard to the Freemasons:
The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities, states, and nation. At the head is a small group of banking houses. This little coterie runs our government for their own selfish ends. It operates under cover of a self-created screen and seizes our executive officers, legislative bodies, schools, courts, newspapers, and every agency created for the public protection (FDRS).
The Freemasons have had a deep, influential impact on the American government. Whether through politics, education, or society, the Masons have had a part in helping shape the nation for which they constructed the foundations. “The Freemasons have had a long-standing relationship with the United States government from its early years with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt… [Freemasonry] has had a significant influence in the development of the United States constitution as well as the structure of the federal government and our system of laws” (Mason Influence in Government). The Freemasons played a key role in America’s winning the Revolutionary War and establishing herself as a sovereign State. Many Founding Fathers belonged to the brotherhood and “helped influence the structure of American society…” (Mason Influence in Government). The Framers of the Constitution who were masons built their beliefs into the very document that still governs society today, the Constitution. “These men [the Freemasons] and more have added their thoughts, wishes, and expectations to the building and development of the United States Constitution” (Mason Influence in Government).
Politics is a page written upon by the Freemasons’ influence. Many of America’s political leaders have been Freemasons. Each of the three branches of America’s government--Legislative, Executive, and Judicial-- have had Freemasons serve in active duty. The Legislative Branch, or Congress, has had the most Freemasons elected into it.
But it has not been the Legislative Branch alone in the United States which has been subjected to strong Masonic influence. The Craft's control of the Supreme Court already has been explored; and although Masonry's authority has not been as pronounced in the Executive Branch as in the two others, the secret Brotherhood has had good representation among Chief Executives. Fifteen of forty-three Presidents have been members of the Craft, some of whom have been more ardent in their attachment to the Fraternity than others (Freemasonry Watch 1).
Much of the ideology behind American Democracy such as the Bill of Rights and civil rights came from the beliefs of Freemasons. "This nation was nurtured on the ideals of Freemasonry; . . . most of those who are today its leaders are also members and leaders of the Craft (Craft is the practice of Freemasonry). They know that our American Democracy, with its emphasis on the inalienable rights and liberties of the individual, is Freemasonry in Government . . ." (Freemasonry Watch 3). America’s values as a nation resemble those of the Freemasons. “American republican values looked like Masonic values writ large: honorable civic-mindedness, a high regard for learning and progress, and what might be called a broad and tolerant religiosity” (Tolson 30). The Freemasons have helped shape politics by the practices, values, and ideas in which they believed.
Any teaching which is completely antagonistic to all that we consider sacred, in religion, in morals and in government, is subversive of those fundamentals, and on them we depend for our very existence as a Craft. Our first duty, therefore, becomes one of self-preservation, which includes defense of those principles for which we stand and by which we live. This duty cannot be discharged by complete silence on the subject, and this view, it is encouraging to note, is today shared by most of those who speak masonically in the United States (Freemasonry Watch 3).
Education is another page upon which the Freemasons have brushed their pens of influence. From elementary education to college, the Freemasons have written their influence upon the educational system of the United States. Upon reflecting the past of the educational system, the Freemason’s influence on education becomes very important to remember (Clough 1).
The sect of the Masons aims unanimously and steadily also at the possession of the education of children. They understand that a tender age is easily bent, and that there is no more useful way of preparing for the State such citizens as they wish. Hence, in the instruction and education of children they do not leave to the ministers of the [Catholic] Church any part either in directing or watching them. In many places, they have gone so far that children’s education is all in the hands of laymen: and from moral teaching every idea is banished of those holy and great duties which bind together man and God (Robison 308).
They realized that the mind of a child is easily swayed and shaped the way the sculptor wants. But they not only had influence in childhood education but also in college and university education. “John Slifko says, ‘Freemasonry in American history has often had a relationship with university life.’” (Clough 2). The Freemasons would allow any young man older than the age set by that lodge to join. Through this they kept their membership up. “‘One of the things that were common in the 1920s is that there would be a Masonic lodge associated with a specific university,’ wrote John Cooper” (Clough 1). “Indeed, the Freemasonry encouraged social movement and a more inclusive elite through education…” (Tolson 34).
Society is yet another page with the pen marks of the Freemason’s influence. They aided in building the bridge of American society with their ever-present influence (Mason Influence in Government). “‘It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of Masonry for the American Revolution. It not only created national icons that are still with us; it brought people together in new ways and helped fulfill the republican dream of reorganizing social relationships…’says Gordon Wood” (Bradley 126). Freemasons helped bring the nation together in new ways. Freemasonry literally brought together men and their thoughts (Bradley 127). “…The cultivation of politeness and honor, mutual assistance, networking, and tolerance for differences in the delicate matter of religion” built a sturdy foundation for the society of early America (Tolson 34). By setting up the laws in a certain intellectual way, the Framers literally put in pen how we would live our lives in accordance to those laws (Mason Influence in Government).
The principles of social science follow. Here naturalists teach that men have all the same rights, and are perfectly equal in condition; that every man is naturally independent; that no one has a right to command others; that it is tyranny to keep men subject to any other authority than that which emanates from themselves. Hence the people are sovereign; those who rule have no authority but by the commission and concession of the people; so that they can be deposed, willing or unwilling, according to the wishes of the people. The origin of all rights and civil duties is in the people or in the state, which is ruled according to the new principals of liberty. The State must be godless; no reason why one religion ought to be preferred to another; all to be held in the same esteem. Now it is well-known that Freemasons approve these maxims, and that they wish to see government shaped on this pattern and model needs no demonstration (Robinson 308-309, emphasis mine).
Freemasons brought about unity, nationalism, laws, and beliefs through their incredibly powerful influence which are still seen today. “He [Fay] argues that Freemasons engendered among a limited but very prominent class of people a feeling of American unity without which American liberty could not have developed—without which there would have been no United States” (Bradley 126). The Freemasons have indeed had a deep, influential impact on the American government. From politics to education to society, the weight of their influence has been felt and continues to be. Being such a secretive brotherhood, the depth of their influence may never be measured with accuracy. There is only thing that is true of the Freemason’s influence: “Historians can infer and they can surmise, but they may not be able to explain fully the influence of Freemasonry” (York 7).
Works Cited
Bradley, Michael. The Secrets of The Freemasons. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2006.
Clough, Richard. Geffen Houses a Masonic Past. 2006. 2 March 2008.
Dali, Salvador. Thinkexist Quotes About Influence. 2008. 3 March 2008.
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/influence/2.html
Robison, John J. Born In Blood. New York, New York: M. Evans and Company, 1989.
Tolson, Jay. “Inside the Masons.” U.S. News and World Report 5 September 2005L 30-35.
Unknown Author. Federal Debt Relief System. 2008. 3 March 2008.
http://www.fdrs.org/freemason_quotes.html
Unknown Author. Freemasonry Watch. 2008. 3 March 2008. www.freemasonrywatch.org
Unknown Author. Mason Influence In Government. 2008. 3 March 2008.
York, Neil L. Freemasons and The American Revolution. 2008. 3 March 2008.
